Destroyed
~
~Chapter Eleven: Save Me
~
~
"Now that I know what I'm without,
You can't just leave me.."
~Evanescence, Bring Me To Life~
~
~
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
~He is moving~
I am moving.
~I cannot remember where to go~
I have not forgotten the pathways of the mind.
~I am getting closer to the light~
Beware your shadows.
~I will save them.~
I will destroy them.
~I am everything~
You are nothing.
~My dreams give me power and hope.~
And yet dreams are all she has left to hold onto.
~I will do my my best.~
What then.. what if your best isn't good enough, boy? When then, shall you hide, where and even how? My eyes can pierce even the veils of night that she draws over her pale featured face. What shall you do, when I come calling...?
~The Door to the Light, the Door to the Shadows.. which is which?~
You do not know..? how.. amusing.
~I cannot do it alone..~
See now how the doubt sets in, boy. That key is a bit useless when you begin to doubt yourself, isn't it? And already you feel the bitterness of it clinging onto you. I would laugh, but I am a bit busy right now.. converse your nightmares and wishes elsewhere, I am no genie.
~Where...am I?~
You are lost.. begone.
~And so, I vanish..~
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
She looked down with her wide expressive eyes at the hands that wouldn't stop shaking no matter how hard she held them together and bid them with every ounce of will in her soul to stop. They shook with the undisclosed fear, as she curled herself into Yuffie's bed. Yuffie slept in her room, and Leon in the chair outside the door.
They wanted to take no more chances, just incase.
The inexplicable breaking of her window had roused more than alarm in her guardians, and more than a sense of being watched in her. It had followed her here from the dreams and from the old world, it still clung onto her and draped itself over every single nerve ending, sparking them and setting her afire with curiousity. Who watched her..?
Leon had made notions about a sorceress, and even had Cid thinking it could be.
But Yuffie had known better, and the look before Yuffie closed the door gently, that look. Those violet eyes fringed in heavy black lashes, and the small spark of understanding and fear. They both knew who it was.
Sephiroth.
Had he followed in her spirit from the world of the dead to a world where shadows and light fought the same battle that he, the creature of Jenova and evil, had fought himself so long ago against her and her friends? If that was so, then it was more than likely that he would plan some kind of attack or send someone to eliminate any threat she could pose to him..
Especially now that her magic returned in strength.
What were her dreams trying to tell her?
They had been such a strange blur of her past, bathed in blood and sorrow and those feelings she would never quite hide from a face made serene through suffering. Unlike her friends though, she did know how to hide it so deeply inside herself and mask it with a chirpy attitude that no one had ever been any the wiser.
Everything in those days, had been done for them.
She vaguely remembered voices outside of the lifestream on the day when she had raised up the earth and forced it to act, forced it to see what was going on. Their tears of joy and their fears relived.. it all burnt them and how she remembered with renewed vigor their faces all streaked with emotion.
It had been right.
Their anger, their hurt, fear and misguided distrust. All had been swept away by her calming touch and balming presence to the earth.
~ I could walk a thousand lifetimes, and never do the good I did that day.~
~ "Aeris! Come back!" ~
Cloud.
Her emerald eyes dropped to her hands, the palms cupped and catching the tears of her own making that slid down perfect cheeks to land in their wrinkled and valleyed places.
He had cried out the loudest as Holy Judgement came upon then.
Look, Look what we have done, he had shouted, Look at how far we've come.
They'd made mistakes, but everyone does now and then, right? Was she making her own lifetime mistake right now, with all these burning feelings inside her?
She didn't know if she felt sick or if she was scared.. but whatever happened, she had her thoughts to hold onto and they, as hard as a stone.. were all that were there to save her.
Because if she couldn't save herself, then no one could.. right?
~ Planet.. ~
But no answer came, and suffering without Gods or Demons.. she sighed and let her own thoughts carry her off into fitful sleep for the fifth night since the window breaking.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"I'm leaving," he said quietly.
"But you.."
"I'll come back to complete our contract, but the next tournament won't be for a while and I'm saving myself for the cup you play and deal in, alright?"
"Hey, Kiddo, I'm only reminding you of your responsibilities.."
"The only way I won't be coming back, is if I'm dead and in that case, my soul resides in your 'realm' then anyway, right?"
There was a silence as the large, but slender fingered hand came up to scratch the large, pointed chin. The silence was very palpable and he would have given a lot to have someone come in running and scream, if only to see the one before him jump and panic much like a girl. Of course, that wasn't likely to happen so he settled for simply waiting.
"Alright, Alright.. you go off and do whatever you need to before the Hades Cup.. but should it come to it, I want you back here.."
"Whatever," he retorted and lifted his sword, the once beautiful silk bandages over the blade now little more than dirty and blackened strips which held in them traces of more blood than what coursed in his body, that what his soul could ever be painted in. It rested a moment on his shoulder, then with a slight grunt he slid it into the sheath on his back.
"Be safe, alright?"
He didn't bother to reply to Hades.
Turning, her walked stiffly from the room he was forced to share in meetings with Hades and out into the bright daylight of the world in which the Coliseum resided.
Cloud knew this world was a long way from his own.
He didn't know where Sephiroth was.. or what to do.
But he knew where he would have to start from.. and that was Hollow Bastion. The castle of darkness and death that stood on the brink of forever, the tides of ruin and the edges of the worlds of Magic which collided conveniently enough, right there. His feet felt leaded, they always did when he was to start out on a new journey that could mean life or death, realisation of actual life.
Everything he did, he did to save her.
She wasn't strong enough, on her own. He hated the bitter failure that always plugged his throat up and he felt unsure of what to do now, where to go and how to get there.
But, as the sunlight drowned him and he directed his pale blue eyes towards the sky in their mako enhanced brilliance.. he knew he'd get there somehow..
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"What?!"
"Trust me.. please?"
Leon stared down in all helplessness at the big green eyes which implored him with heart and soul, those slender hands clasped at her front in wild hope. The day was dark, more stars kept fading and as much s he hated to admit it, maybe Aeris was right this time.
Perhaps it was time they made a decisive move towards the end of all reason and back to where this all began for them.
Yuffie had acceeded rather quickly, naturally deferring to Aeris as older, wiser and more knowledgable about things, but the lingering sense of uneasiness was filling the ninja girl as she moved in and out of rooms, packing a few things to go on the Gummi ship with them, towards the shackledown castle.
Leon tried avoiding Yuffie's questioning and almost pushy eyes, and instead looked down on Aeris. He was absorbed in this frail young woman and happily so but.. in the Hollow Bastion, there would be Heartless.. and shadows.
How could he protect her there?
"I.."
"Squall.. please!"
The name froze him.
He loved her more than life.. but.. Hollow Bastion. His grey eyes must have displayed some of his uncertainty, for she moved in and grabbed one hand, squeezing it.
"I'll go.. with or without you."
The tone was like iron and for a moment he stared blankly at Aeris.
Never before had she shown her iron will without the sugar coated sweet reason, and it had pushed him off track momentarily.. then he nodded with a defeated sigh. "Alright.. I'll go."
"Yay!"
"But!" He patted her shoulder, "You don't even go to the bathroom without Yuffie or I to chaperone you."
"Ew, Squall," and she laughed.
He did too.
But the doubt lingered.. as well as that dread, cold foreboding.. he'd not experienced it in so long, not since the day Rinoa had moved them to the star shaped crater.. and once again, he was sure.. he was going to lose the next love of his life.. forever.
(( I know it's short.. next one coming soon!))
~
~Chapter Eleven: Save Me
~
~
"Now that I know what I'm without,
You can't just leave me.."
~Evanescence, Bring Me To Life~
~
~
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
~He is moving~
I am moving.
~I cannot remember where to go~
I have not forgotten the pathways of the mind.
~I am getting closer to the light~
Beware your shadows.
~I will save them.~
I will destroy them.
~I am everything~
You are nothing.
~My dreams give me power and hope.~
And yet dreams are all she has left to hold onto.
~I will do my my best.~
What then.. what if your best isn't good enough, boy? When then, shall you hide, where and even how? My eyes can pierce even the veils of night that she draws over her pale featured face. What shall you do, when I come calling...?
~The Door to the Light, the Door to the Shadows.. which is which?~
You do not know..? how.. amusing.
~I cannot do it alone..~
See now how the doubt sets in, boy. That key is a bit useless when you begin to doubt yourself, isn't it? And already you feel the bitterness of it clinging onto you. I would laugh, but I am a bit busy right now.. converse your nightmares and wishes elsewhere, I am no genie.
~Where...am I?~
You are lost.. begone.
~And so, I vanish..~
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
She looked down with her wide expressive eyes at the hands that wouldn't stop shaking no matter how hard she held them together and bid them with every ounce of will in her soul to stop. They shook with the undisclosed fear, as she curled herself into Yuffie's bed. Yuffie slept in her room, and Leon in the chair outside the door.
They wanted to take no more chances, just incase.
The inexplicable breaking of her window had roused more than alarm in her guardians, and more than a sense of being watched in her. It had followed her here from the dreams and from the old world, it still clung onto her and draped itself over every single nerve ending, sparking them and setting her afire with curiousity. Who watched her..?
Leon had made notions about a sorceress, and even had Cid thinking it could be.
But Yuffie had known better, and the look before Yuffie closed the door gently, that look. Those violet eyes fringed in heavy black lashes, and the small spark of understanding and fear. They both knew who it was.
Sephiroth.
Had he followed in her spirit from the world of the dead to a world where shadows and light fought the same battle that he, the creature of Jenova and evil, had fought himself so long ago against her and her friends? If that was so, then it was more than likely that he would plan some kind of attack or send someone to eliminate any threat she could pose to him..
Especially now that her magic returned in strength.
What were her dreams trying to tell her?
They had been such a strange blur of her past, bathed in blood and sorrow and those feelings she would never quite hide from a face made serene through suffering. Unlike her friends though, she did know how to hide it so deeply inside herself and mask it with a chirpy attitude that no one had ever been any the wiser.
Everything in those days, had been done for them.
She vaguely remembered voices outside of the lifestream on the day when she had raised up the earth and forced it to act, forced it to see what was going on. Their tears of joy and their fears relived.. it all burnt them and how she remembered with renewed vigor their faces all streaked with emotion.
It had been right.
Their anger, their hurt, fear and misguided distrust. All had been swept away by her calming touch and balming presence to the earth.
~ I could walk a thousand lifetimes, and never do the good I did that day.~
~ "Aeris! Come back!" ~
Cloud.
Her emerald eyes dropped to her hands, the palms cupped and catching the tears of her own making that slid down perfect cheeks to land in their wrinkled and valleyed places.
He had cried out the loudest as Holy Judgement came upon then.
Look, Look what we have done, he had shouted, Look at how far we've come.
They'd made mistakes, but everyone does now and then, right? Was she making her own lifetime mistake right now, with all these burning feelings inside her?
She didn't know if she felt sick or if she was scared.. but whatever happened, she had her thoughts to hold onto and they, as hard as a stone.. were all that were there to save her.
Because if she couldn't save herself, then no one could.. right?
~ Planet.. ~
But no answer came, and suffering without Gods or Demons.. she sighed and let her own thoughts carry her off into fitful sleep for the fifth night since the window breaking.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"I'm leaving," he said quietly.
"But you.."
"I'll come back to complete our contract, but the next tournament won't be for a while and I'm saving myself for the cup you play and deal in, alright?"
"Hey, Kiddo, I'm only reminding you of your responsibilities.."
"The only way I won't be coming back, is if I'm dead and in that case, my soul resides in your 'realm' then anyway, right?"
There was a silence as the large, but slender fingered hand came up to scratch the large, pointed chin. The silence was very palpable and he would have given a lot to have someone come in running and scream, if only to see the one before him jump and panic much like a girl. Of course, that wasn't likely to happen so he settled for simply waiting.
"Alright, Alright.. you go off and do whatever you need to before the Hades Cup.. but should it come to it, I want you back here.."
"Whatever," he retorted and lifted his sword, the once beautiful silk bandages over the blade now little more than dirty and blackened strips which held in them traces of more blood than what coursed in his body, that what his soul could ever be painted in. It rested a moment on his shoulder, then with a slight grunt he slid it into the sheath on his back.
"Be safe, alright?"
He didn't bother to reply to Hades.
Turning, her walked stiffly from the room he was forced to share in meetings with Hades and out into the bright daylight of the world in which the Coliseum resided.
Cloud knew this world was a long way from his own.
He didn't know where Sephiroth was.. or what to do.
But he knew where he would have to start from.. and that was Hollow Bastion. The castle of darkness and death that stood on the brink of forever, the tides of ruin and the edges of the worlds of Magic which collided conveniently enough, right there. His feet felt leaded, they always did when he was to start out on a new journey that could mean life or death, realisation of actual life.
Everything he did, he did to save her.
She wasn't strong enough, on her own. He hated the bitter failure that always plugged his throat up and he felt unsure of what to do now, where to go and how to get there.
But, as the sunlight drowned him and he directed his pale blue eyes towards the sky in their mako enhanced brilliance.. he knew he'd get there somehow..
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"What?!"
"Trust me.. please?"
Leon stared down in all helplessness at the big green eyes which implored him with heart and soul, those slender hands clasped at her front in wild hope. The day was dark, more stars kept fading and as much s he hated to admit it, maybe Aeris was right this time.
Perhaps it was time they made a decisive move towards the end of all reason and back to where this all began for them.
Yuffie had acceeded rather quickly, naturally deferring to Aeris as older, wiser and more knowledgable about things, but the lingering sense of uneasiness was filling the ninja girl as she moved in and out of rooms, packing a few things to go on the Gummi ship with them, towards the shackledown castle.
Leon tried avoiding Yuffie's questioning and almost pushy eyes, and instead looked down on Aeris. He was absorbed in this frail young woman and happily so but.. in the Hollow Bastion, there would be Heartless.. and shadows.
How could he protect her there?
"I.."
"Squall.. please!"
The name froze him.
He loved her more than life.. but.. Hollow Bastion. His grey eyes must have displayed some of his uncertainty, for she moved in and grabbed one hand, squeezing it.
"I'll go.. with or without you."
The tone was like iron and for a moment he stared blankly at Aeris.
Never before had she shown her iron will without the sugar coated sweet reason, and it had pushed him off track momentarily.. then he nodded with a defeated sigh. "Alright.. I'll go."
"Yay!"
"But!" He patted her shoulder, "You don't even go to the bathroom without Yuffie or I to chaperone you."
"Ew, Squall," and she laughed.
He did too.
But the doubt lingered.. as well as that dread, cold foreboding.. he'd not experienced it in so long, not since the day Rinoa had moved them to the star shaped crater.. and once again, he was sure.. he was going to lose the next love of his life.. forever.
(( I know it's short.. next one coming soon!))